Should I buy eggs or wait it out?

[JW12]

So I'm finally home after the longest day ever! I sorta feel like mortie now!!! I just knew today was the day...... Nope!!!! I jump out of my car and run up to see and nothing, then I went to see the silkies.... and nothing.... Then I went to check on the ducks and guess what.... still nothing. I'm sick of waiting.... My lord it's killing me! At this point I'm hoping for a Halloween egg from someone.

 

[TNchickmom]

TNchickmom, 4 weeks is about right for the adjustment period when rehoming pullets/hens.  they should resume any day now.  you might get eggs before mortie...  

Awww poor mortie. Ok that's exactly what I needed to hear! I was afraid I was doing something wrong.

 

[mortie]

I will have eaten Wilson by August 1st if there are no eggs by then. I would even take a shell less egg or one of those little teeny ones...

 

[cheeka]

oh no you wouldn't eat Wilson!! she's going to be one of your best layers!! it's just one more week, you can make it! and you may want to consider switching to layer feed... you can up their protein with fish... or kitten food. I've used multi flock when I had birds of all ages and I didn't get as many eggs as with layer

such a cool night, woke up it was still not yet 60°, although it is now... it's supposed to be even chillier tonight (49°!) I've been rebuilding the store bought coop the last few days. the design is brilliant but it was built with the cheapest materials and has been falling apart since last year. I've replaced 2 out of three roof sections, with plywood and roof shingles left over from when I had my house roof redone a few years ago. still have the egg retrieval lid to do. it's looking so much better and so much more secure - the plywood is 3 times heavier than the crap originally used so I put eye hooks on as well so I can get at those eggs that aren't in the nest. I'll take pics later.

 

[savannahm0m]

ok now i have a problem, have had chickens for a total of 15 years, never have i had a chicken sleep in the nest well last week i found not one but 4 sleeping in them, dh said he would block them off for night, but what about that early bird egg. i have taken them out and put them on the roost the last 2 nights, oh ya like that helped had more do it, i just finished cleaning this coop and now the nest full of poo, any ideas?

Are there any older girls in your flock, or are they all the same age? We made the mistake of putting the roosts and the nesting boxes at the same height. While I kept the nesting boxes blocked off, all was okay. I was hoping that they would form their habits and be done. When they got to 16 months, we opened the boxes up, and they immediately started sleeping there. I would take them out and put them on the roost, but they would do it again the very next night. I tried putting "curtains" up to block them off, but they still got in there to sleep. I was worried that I would have to scrub every egg laid because of course, when they sleep, they poo.

So then they started laying, and then they stopped sleeping in the nesting boxes...just like that. Now they just sleep on the roosts, and I have, for the most part, clean eggs. Of course, there is my one trouble maker who likes to lay her egg in the poop tray of the coop. Oh well, no one is perfect!

 

[tinkershell767]

Egg song, oh beautiful egg song! My RSL Ariel is my absolute favorite chicken. She will be the first to lay an egg is my guess. She squatted yesterday and today she's singing!

 

[mortie]

Wilson is the biggest one, so naturally she will be the one who gets eaten. If she didn't want that, she should have laid an egg. Even a messed up one, to show intent. She made her bed, she can sleep in it! She is probably 4 lbs or so. The rest of them are half her size.

I can feed layer going forward, when I bought the bag we are about 1/4 of the way through right now, I had birds that I knew were 8 weeks or so from laying so I didn't quite want to feed them layer yet...I don't know if it would really hurt them or not but I decided to just go with another bag of all flock with a bit of oyster shell mixed in and then some on the side as well. It looks like mostly they are leaving the shell mixed in the food. The next bag can be layer, they'll be 23ish weeks by then and my ameracaunas should be close if not laying. Takes us forever to go through a bag.

This morning's egg check revealed bupkis. Nadda. Zero eggs.

Penny is looking more like an expectant mother, though. She is going in and out of the coop quite a bit, and I actually saw her in the next box, which is a first. I've never seen a bird in the box before. I don't think they like my next boxes. She went in, pecked at the nest a bit, then hopped in and scratched around some, then hopped out about a minute later. I guess that's progress at least.

This puts her pretty far down the meat bird list....but she's not out of the woods yet.

 

[mortie]

Well, now Penny finds herself at the top of the meat bird list.

Just now i was sitting here minding my own business when I heard a RUCKUS coming from outside. Penny was coming out of the coop, eggsonging at the TOP OF HER VOICE. I thought FOR SURE she laid an egg.

I told her what a good girl she is as she continued down the ramp, still screeching. I peered into the coop. Nothing on the floor. I opened the nest box....2 golf balls, now dirty from her sitting and stepping on them.

No egg.

She will be the death of me. It's either her or me at this point. That's why she has to go. So long, Penny.

 

[JW12]

Omg omg omg!!!!!!! Guess what I came home to????!!!!!!

Good lord I shouldn't be this excited over 2 eggs but I can't help it!!!! I put the golf ball in for a size comparison they aren't huge but I don't care. Everybody gets PIE tonight!

 

[Wishing4Wings]

Congratulations JW!!

Beautiful eggs, and two on one day. A double first!! The eggs will get bigger in time. I'm guessing they're chicken eggs, since there is no mud on them.